The Qatar team lost 2-0 to Ecuador on November 20, 2022, at the start of a much-criticized 22nd FIFA World Cup. But for the Qataris, the main thing was that the Al Bayt Stadium, also the scene of the inaugural ceremony, be at the center of world attention.
From our Special Envoy in Doha,
” So you’ve seen what Qatar really is?! Hamed, a 16-year-old Qatari, displays his pride. First curled up in his seat, when he is handed a microphone to speak on the kick-off of the World Cup 2022 on his land, the teenager then lets loose, in English: ” This evening was really beautiful, even if we lost. I am proud of my country. Others can say what they want. »
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On November 20, Hamed and nearly 67,300 other spectators attended the opening ceremony and the first match of this tournament, so decried for the fate reserved for migrant workers, minorities and for its environmental impact.
A gathering for which it was better to arrive early. Several endless lines of vehicles indeed rallying Doha to the Al Bayt Stadium, built at the gates of the desert and Al Khor, a city in the northeast of the small but extremely wealthy state in the Persian Gulf. An Al Bayt Stadium theater of this planetary event wanted at all costs by the reigning family, the Al Thani.
American actor Morgan Freeman, as narrator
The former Emir Hamad, then his son Tamim, the current sovereign, thus have the right to the clamor of the local public, when they appear on the giant screens of the stadium.
Then the ceremony begins with the American actor Morgan Freeman, famous for his qualities as a narrator, who invites the whole world to join him in this gigantic building, built on the model of a traditional Bedouin tent: “ We all gather here in one great tribe. »
This is followed by a sound and light show during which tributes are paid to the songs of supporters from different countries (including “Allez les Bleus”), to the anthems of previous editions (“Waka Waka”, by Shakira), all with the mascots of the past – including the Footix of the 1998 World Cup. A way of inscribing this much criticized 2022 World Cup, especially in Europe and North America, in the history of the competition… “ From Qatar of the Arab world, I welcome everyone says Tamim Al Thani.
The Equateur team did not pray to make themselves at home. They won 2-0 thanks to a brace from their striker Enner Valencia, after even having a goal invalidated at the very start of the match for an unclear offside. A setback greeted by the silence and the fearless gazes of many Maroon fans, themselves, tense by the issue. Some supporters even started to leave the place from the hour mark. I am happyswears however Samir, forty, raising his arms in the air. And you, are you happy? Because if you’re happy, I’m happy too, he says, amused. All this is for you “. The essential, it is true, was undoubtedly elsewhere than on the ground, this evening, for Qatar.
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